4 bodies abandoned near Mexican city hall

VERACRUZ, Mexico 
Authorities in Mexico say four bodies were abandoned near a city hall in the Gulf of Mexico state of Veracruz.

The Veracruz Attorney General's Office says police saw armed passengers descend from a vehicle late Thursday to dump the bodies near the main administrative building of the city of Panuco. The Friday statement says the police chased the vehicle, but the gunmen fled to the neighboring state of Tamaulipas.

The border area between the two Gulf coast states has seen a spike in drug violence in the last four months from warring cartels.